Sep 29, 2006, 15:38 GMT
Nairobi - Kenya's biggest elephant relocation resumed on Friday after it was suspended last year because of heavy rains.
The Kenya Wildlife Service (KWS) began the translocation of 250 elephants from a crowded coastal reserve to the country's biggest nature park, Tsavo National Park, in the country's ongoing attempt to reduce confrontations between elephants and humans.
'Because of the overpopulation of elephants, people have not been able to have crops around the area,' said KWS spokesperson Connie Maina.
She added that since last year's mission, in which 150 elephants were moved, the residents around the Shimba Hills National Reserve have been able to grow crops again.
Elephants are renowned in Kenya for trampling property, often ruining farmers' annual harvests and, in turn, destroying their livelihood.
Kenya's elephant population plummeted from 167,000 in 1973 to a paltry 16,000 in 1989, causing alarm in wildlife conservation circles.
After the introduction of a global ban on the ivory trade, the headcount of Kenyan elephants now stands at 28,000.
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